To the Ones Left Behind
by For-the-Lolz
Summary: Rose and Scorpius have always been enemies. But when their mutual best friend, and in Rose's case, cousin, kills himself, they both find themselves left alone to pick up the pieces.
1. Nails for Breakfast, Tacks for Snacks

Albus Potter liked pills. Maybe a little too much.

He supposed it could be blamed on his grandfather, since he had a strange obsession with all things muggle. Of course, he could also blame his parents for not paying quite enough attention to his extracurricular activities. He could put all the blame on Scorpius and Rose for not stopping him.

But then again, he was pretty sure Rose and Scorpius didn't think it was that bad. He figured they just thought he liked to get fucked up every once and a while. He didn't think they knew he was addicted. Maybe if they weren't so busy hating each other, they would notice.

He could never figure out why his two best friends didn't like each other. Ever since first year they had been at each others' throats. It was hard to be friends with them both while they were acting like that. They tolerated each other and acted somewhat civil when he was around. But that was the extent of it. Whenever he turned his back they were hexing each other.

Albus supposed that was part of the reason he had ended up at the point he currently was at. The other part had a lot to do with his father being "The Boy Who Saved Us All". And of course his mother's affair.

Only he knew about it. One day, in his fifth year, Albus had gone down to Hogsmeade one weekend on his own. Scorpius had been at quidditch practice and Rose had been in the library, as she always was. So he had gone alone.

He went into the Hogshead, where he spent the afternoon drinking glass after glass of butterbeer. Just when he was about to leave, since it was nearly dark, he had noticed a shock of red hair. He immediately recognized it as his mother's. He was going to go over and say hello when he noticed a man next to her that wasn't his father. At first he figured she was just having a pint with an old friend, but then she leaned over and began to mercilessly snog him.

Albus almost threw up.

His mother was snogging Dean Thomas. In fact, she was probably doing a whole lot more with him.

After that, every time Albus went home for holiday, he was very conscious of his mother's lateness. She was always working late. She was always late for dinner. Late, late, late. His father was too blind, too in love, to realize what was going on. It hurt to watch his mother go around screwing whoever she wanted to; it hurt to watch his father not realize.

So in the pills went, because they helped dull the pain. But soon it took more and more pills to help the hurt. Eventually, the pills weren't enough. So Albus had decided this.

He looked at the pill bottle. Thirty-six pills. Would it be enough? He sure hoped so.

Al looked down at the envelopes he had set on the nightstand next to his bed. There were seven in all. Each bore a name. They were to the people he was leaving behind.

He slowly opened the pill bottle. He tipped it back and swallowed them all. A few stuck to his tongue while others clung to his throat. He swallowed once more, trying to get them all the way down. Maybe he should have brought a glass of water.

That was the last thing Albus Potter thought before he closed his eyes forever.


	2. You're Crashing, But You're No Wave

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. **

**A/N: I don't really know how I feel about this chapter… **

It was Lily who found him. Ginny had sent her to wake him up. Albus was usually an early riser; no later than 8:30. But it was nearly three in the afternoon that Lily went to get him. Lily had been concerned, but Ginny had dismissed it.

"He's finally being a normal teenager and sleeping late," she had said. So Lily had stopped voicing her concerns and worried in silence.

Albus always stayed up late when he was home from school; even though he woke up early the next morning. But last night he had gone up to his room at about eight o'clock. "I'm tired," was his excuse.

Finally, at three, Ginny had called out to her from the kitchen, "Lily, go wake your brother up. I'm glad he's sleeping late, but this is ridiculous!"

Lily slowly ascended the stairs. Something didn't feel right. Lily walked down the hallway to the third door on the left and knocked softly before opening the door. "Al?" she whispered.

Al was there. But something was wrong. He was sprawled out on his back; he usually slept on his stomach. He was in his clothes from the day before and he didn't have any sheets pulled over him. His glasses were still on and his hair, while it was always messy, wasn't mussed enough for him to have been sleeping. He looked peaceful. Too peaceful.

Lily walked slowly towards him.

"Al?" she said, a little louder. She gave him a little shake. "Albus? It's time to wake up."

And that's when she knew. He wasn't waking up.

"Mom," she yelled robotically. Ginny didn't respond.

"Mom!" It was starting to hit her. Albus. Dead. She would never talk to him again. He would never tease her. Never threaten her boyfriends after a breakup. Never comfort her when she was scared. He was gone.

"MOM!"

Ginny came stomping up the steps.

"What is SO important that you had to yell? It sounded like there was something wro-"

That's when she noticed the tears running down her daughter's face.

"Lily, what is it?" she asked rushing to her daughter's side.

Lily just pointed.

Ginny shook his arm, "Al! Al wake up! You're scaring your sister!"

"He's dead," Lily whispered.

Ginny grabbed his arm and apparated them to St. Mungo's.

Lily was left standing in Albus' room. Could it even be called that anymore? He was dead after all. No, the dead can't own anything. It's not his anymore. But then who's was it?

James appeared in the doorway.

"What's wrong? I heard you yelling."

Lily turned towards him.

"Al's dead," she said, as though she talking about the weather and not her brother's death. Then she walked out the door and down the stairs.

James stood there, shocked, for a moment, then quickly followed after her. She was in the kitchen, looking in the fridge for something to eat.

"You can't just say something like that and walk away!" James yelled. "What do you mean?"

Lily reached in the fridge, pulled out some lunch meat and cheese, and muttered something about the impossibility of getting mayonnaise around here.

"Lily," James said sternly.

"What do you think I mean? Albus is dead. I think mom apparated him to St. Mungo's, but it's too late; he's dead." She said all this while grabbing a loaf of bread out of the cupboard.

"Are you fucking with me? If he was really dead, you would be upset."

Lily looked at him strangely. "He's gone. That's all there is to it." Then she walked out of the kitchen with her sandwich.

James realized he wasn't getting anything out of his sister. So he did the only thing he could think of. He apparated to St. Mungo's.

OoOoO

In the end, James, Ginny, and Harry all ended up at St. Mungo's. Lily, when called through the floo, flat out refused to come. The prognosis was the same as the one Lily had given; only it had been broken a little more thoughtfully. Albus Potter, son of Harry and Ginny Potter, was dead. As a doornail. Nothing could be done. He was gone. Forever.

They all flooed home in silence, no one quite knowing what to say. What do you say when your son kills himself?

Apparently no one knew. No one spoke for the rest of the day, except for Lily, who seemed completely unaffected by her brother's death.

She offered to floo the rest of the family and inform them of Al's death, but Harry and Ginny simply shook their heads, knowing she would simply blurt the news out without any respect for the feelings of her family members. So they kept silent, they wondered around the house like zombies; they had no destination, they just walked, awkwardly bumping into each other.

The next day, they went to the burrow to tell what happened.

Harry was the one to break the news.

"Al passed away yesterday," he told them. Everyone was silent. James couldn't help but think that he would rather have Lily tell him than his father. The way he said it was so mechanical; sort of like the way the doctor had told them.

There was an awful lot of crying. There were tears all around. Except Lily. She was fine.

Rose was the worst. Al had been her closest cousin; her best friend. She had never been especially popular at school, as she spent a lot of time studying. She didn't have time for friends. Except Al. He was her only real friend. She had people she talked to, people she was friendly with. But no one she could confide in, just Al.

And now she was alone.

Harry then went on to explain exactly how Al had died. Everyone was confused. He wasn't depressed. They would have noticed if he was. It must have been an accident. He accidentally swallowed a whole bottle of pills. That must be it.

Soon after the news had been given, people began trickling to their homes. Just before the Potters were about to leave, James approached Rose.

"You should come to the house," he told her.

"James, I don't think-"

"There was a note," he interjected. Rose's eyes grew wide. "Well, actually, notes. Come with us."

**So, I feel like people are concerned that this isn't a Scorpius/Rose story. It is, I promise, but at the same time, it jumps around to see how others are dealing with things. But Scorp and Rose are the main characters. Just, stay with me? Please?**


	3. Build God, Then We'll Talk

**Disclaimer: I own nothing…**

The Potters house felt empty. It felt haunted. Rose couldn't help but shiver. All the times she had been there it had been bustling and full of energy. It had been happy. Now it was shrouded in a heavy darkness.

James immediately went up the stairs, so Rose figured she should follow him. Their destination was Al's room. The minute Rose stepped inside she wanted to cry. He had died here. Alone. All alone. Just like she was now.

Her aunt and uncle were already in the room. Ginny wordlessly picked up an already open envelope and handed it to her. Rose took the parchment out and began reading.

_To the ones I left behind,_

_I guess you all know what this is. It's my suicide note. It probably would have been more dramatic to start it off with something like, "By the time you're reading this, I'll already be dead." But that's not very original. It's too morbid. Then again, this whole situation is sort of morbid. _

_I suppose I could address you all in this note. Tell all of you the reasons why I've done this in one general note and just get it over with. But if I did that, you would all start pointing fingers and blaming each other for this. I don't want you to do that. _

_So instead I've written six notes, not including this one. There's one for each of the ones I feel I owe an explanation to; to let them know what happened. If it's not your note, don't open it. Or I'll come back and haunt you. I promise._

_Anyway, I just want to say, I love you all. Don't do anything dumb. Now, if I wrote you one, go read your note. _

_Al_

Rose let the tears fall once more. She would be crying a lot, she could tell.

Harry then handed the notes out. One for Ginny, one for James, one for Lily, and two for Rose. One had her name on it. The other had…

_Scorpius._

Rose looked up at Harry in alarm. He gave her a thin smile.

"We think you should take his to him."

Rose wanted to protest. She wanted to refuse. But then one of the Potters would have to take it to him. And they were already in so much pain. Why should they have to explain to anyone else what had happened?

So Rose flooed home and told her parents they shouldn't wait up for her.

And then she flooed to Malfoy Manor.

OoOoO

When Scorpius had been told that there was someone at the door for him, the last person he had expected to see was Rose Weasley. Yet there she was. She looked upset. Her eyes were puffy and her hair in disarray.

"May I come in?" she asked. Her voice was raw, as though she hadn't spoken in a while.

"Sure," Scorpius said. He stepped back and let her in.

"I need to talk to you about something," she whispered.

"Okay," Scorpius said, "we can go to my room."

She followed him up a few flights of stairs and down a couple hallways to his room.

"What's going on?" Scorpius asked, sitting on his desk chair while Rose sat across from him on his bed.

"It's Al," she said, looking down at her hands.

"What about him?"

"He…he…" tears began silently leaking down her face again.

"He killed himself," she said, lifting her head to look him in the eye.

Scorpius stared at her. Rose reached in her pocket and pulled out a letter with his name on it.

"He wrote one for everyone he thought he owed an explanation to," she said, pulling her own, unopened letter out and showing it to him. "I wanted to wait until I gave you yours to open it."

Scorpius opened his slowly. Before taking it out, he looked up at Rose. She was just staring down at her letter.

"Aren't you going to open yours?" Scorpius asked.

She looked up at him with desperate eyes. "I-I don't know." She looked back down at it. "What if it says it's all my fault? What if he blames me for everything?" Her shoulders started shaking as she started crying again.

Scorpius didn't really know what to do or say. He hated it when girls cried; even when the girl was one of his least favorite people. Scorpius got up out of his chair and sat down next to her gingerly.

"Why would he blame you? You haven't done anything," Scorpius said.

Rose looked up at him with her big, blue, tearful eyes.

"Because I've been a horrible cousin! I didn't even notice he was depressed! How could I not notice!" she wailed, throwing her arms around him and burying her face in his shoulder.

Oh dear. Now she was hanging on him _and_ crying.

"Look, Rose, I didn't notice either, okay? He obviously didn't want us to notice. You know how Al was; he was Slytherin through and through. He only showed what he wanted to show."

Rose just continued sobbing into his shoulder.

"Okay, how about this. We don't open these until we're both ready?"

Rose loosened her grip on him so she could look into his eyes, "Really? You'll wait to read yours until I'm ready?"

"Sure," Scorpius murmured, "That way we won't have to be alone when we read them."

Rose smiled through her tears. Scorpius could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. He would have to remember to visit a healer to get that checked out. "Thank you," she sniffled. Then she seemed to realize that she had been hanging on to him and quickly let go.

They sat there in an awkward silence for nearly five minutes. Finally, Scorpius asked the question he had been wondering all along.

"How did he do it?"

Rose was silent for a moment.

"He swallowed a bottle of muggle pills."

Scorpius turned towards her in alarm.

"I thought he just used those to get high."

"Me too," Rose whispered.

Scorpius sighed.

The awkward silence took over again.

"I'm tired," Rose said.

"Me too."

Rose stood up and made for the door. She reached for the handle then turned back towards Scorpius, who was already lying down.

"I… I don't want to go home yet." She must have noticed the look of surprise on his face because she continued. "When I do they'll all want to make arrangements for the funeral and talk about their feelings. I don't want to have to listen to any of it."

Scorpius sighed then patted the spot next to him. She walked back over and laid down next to him.

They fell asleep side by side.

**A/N: Boo! I suck. I apologize for that last line. It's so… cliché. Review and tell me watch you think. I've already decided my next story will be a comedy. Because this shit's really depressing to write. **


	4. Spanish Sahara

When Scorpius woke up the next morning, he was more than a little surprised to find Rose Weasley lying next to him. Or more accurately, on top of him; the girl had somehow weaseled (no pun intended) her way into his arms and was practically sprawled out on top of him. It took him a moment to remember the reason she was there. He knew that he definitely hadn't screwed her. He hated her after all, and he made it a rule not to fuck girls he hated.

_Albus would laugh his arse off if he saw this._

Albus…

And then it all came flooding back to him. Albus was dead.

Scorpius quickly extracted himself from beneath Rose and made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the tap and splashed some water on his face. No, he was definitely awake. It wasn't a dream. Well fuck. Scorpius looked at himself in the mirror; he realized he didn't know whether he was crying or not. An undignified sob wrenched itself from his mouth. No, he was definitely crying.

A soft knock on the door.

"Scorpius?" Rose's voice asked, muffled slightly from the door between them. She opened it a crack, then all the way. "Are you okay?"

Scorpius just looked at her helplessly. "I don't know."

He didn't know what possessed her to do it; neither did she. Maybe it was because he looked so small and helpless and so unlike the Scorpius Malfoy he was supposed to be and acted like he was. She walked over to him and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him to her in a comforting hug. She didn't say anything, and Scorpius decided that it was probably best she didn't.

OoOoO

"Why did he do this to us?" he let the words slip out only after they had calmed down and stopped crying. Now they were both sitting on the floor of his bathroom; him leaning against the tub and her leaning against the cabinet under the sink.

He knew how selfish the words were. Albus certainly hadn't done it to them. He did it to himself.

Rose just picked at her nails.

Eventually, she got up and looked in the mirror, trying to get herself to look as unruffled looking as possible. Once she was satisfied, she headed for the door.

"I'll let you know when the funeral is," she muttered before she walked out.

Scorpius just let his head fall back against the tub, as sleep overcame him once more.

OoOoO

As promised, Rose owled him with the date for the funeral. Thursday. That was only two days away. He wasn't sure he could prepare himself in such a short time. He supposed he would have to, though.

He hadn't spoken for a whole day and a half. He had kept himself holed up in his room, refusing to let his mother in when she begged from the other side of the door for him to please come out and eat. He guessed that meant he hadn't eaten in a day either. How odd.

He had never felt so alone, so abandoned, so sad.

He couldn't help but wonder if this is how it would be from now on. Wandering through life in a haze of loneliness.

He didn't think he could bear it.

OoOoO

**I fucking suck. **

**I'm so sorry this hasn't been updated in forever. I never intended it to take that long. Life got in the way, ya know? **

**Also, this is really short, which makes me even more of a bitch. And I'm not actually sure if it's any good.**

**BUT if it's any consolation, I plan on updating every week. It's my New Year resolution. **

**I'll warn you before I go on hiatus next time, yeah?**

**Review if you're feeling forgiving. I would be pissed if I were you. **


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